Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Human Services. The front page of today's The West Australian newspaper reveals that the government has a radical plan to privatise Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Won't this mean that the electronic health data of Australians, such as Medicare information, could be sold to a foreign company?

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the Minister for Human Services, I do not own the policy space for health. That is, of course, owned by the Minister for Health.

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith is now warned!

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do run the computing technology that pays for Medicare, for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and, of course, for aged-care payments. Those payments are something like a combined value of $31 billion. We are talking about 600 million annual transactions. It is a massive transaction space.

Ms Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith has been warned! That is her final warning.

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The problem in the health transaction space is that we are in the 21st century and we use 21st century technology. All of us use 'tap and go'. All of us use our mobile phones in terms of how we transact. With multiple billions of dollars of payments, the problem is that we are now so tied to a paper-based system. So what the government wants to do is investigate areas where we can actually use technology to benefit the payment of health systems. The problem is that those opposite are so addicted to quill-and-ink, they actually want to keep us back in a paper-based environment.

Ms Collins interjecting—

Ms King interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Ballarat! And I warn the member for Franklin!

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is an opportunity now for the government to explore options to use 21st century technology so we can live and operate in a 21st century world. I would have thought those opposite would have embraced a digital revolution when it comes to payments of health data. I would have thought those opposite, in their 'year of idea'—or has that passed into last year—would embrace the idea to use technology to make lives easier for Australians.

If we look, for example, at Centrelink's Express Plus application, 68 million transactions are done by this Express Plus app every single year. So if we can use an app for people to engage with Centrelink and the welfare system, surely those opposite can open their eyes and try to embrace a future where technology can help everyday Australians. But the question for this parliament is: are those opposite up to the technology challenge? I think that their question reveals that the answer is a big, fat no.